Zero Hearts
by Kuroshiro-Kai
Summary: AU/Divergence: What if Yuugi's wish for a true friend was more willfully made? What if Jou hadn't stolen a piece of the puzzle? Who knew the changes made would have such severe consequences... Puzzleshipping Season Zero
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is based on the manga verse (mixed with some of the awesomeness that is the infamous season zero) and diverges into an au from there, I think we can all figure things out on our own though ne?

This fic will have Puzzleshipping and Tendershipping…and a lot of other random stuff…just a heads up for those who don't like that sort of thing…

_**Yu-Gi-Oh! Zero Hearts: **_

**Chapter One**

_**Shadows Arrival **_

The bell rang to signal the start of lunch break, it's loud buzzing echoing through the quickly filling halls of Domino Senior High School as the students rushed out of the classrooms with bright, excited smiles on their faces—there was a big game of basketball, girls vs. boys, planned for that afternoon and nobody could wait to get in on the action. Nobody except one spiky haired boy by the name of Mutou Yuugi who was completely absorbed in building up the large castle of cards that he had been working on since their teacher had run out of the classroom—to help break up a fight in the courtyard directly below their classroom—and was quite happy to continue doing until lunch was over.

"Oi Mutou-Kun," One of the boys, a stocky brunette with dark brown eyes, heading outside called for him. Yuugi looked up, and sighed quietly to himself as his castle fell apart, but his classmate continued in his strangely unassuming voice, "Why not join us for a game?"

"No, it's alright…the team I'm on would loose the game…" Yuugi laughed nervously and threaded his nimble fingers through his extravagant tricolored hair—multiple layers with long blond locks for his fringe, the rest featuring five casually tousled spikes colored black with a magenta sheen along the edges—in an attempt to distract himself from the sight of his ruined challenge.

"That's true enough!" He laughed, spinning the orange rubber ball on the tip of his index finger, before running out of the classroom with a quick shout of, "See ya' later."

Yuugi's pale amethyst eyes sparkled with an almost childlike innocence as he turned to stare down through his heavy, dark eyelashes that made it seem as if someone had outlined his eyes in kohl at the shining golden puzzle—a beautifully crafted inverted pyramid—hanging from the sturdy strip of brown leather around his neck. He idly traced the raised Egyptian eye on the puzzle's face and laughed softly at the way it seemed to tingle beneath the sensitive pads of his fingers in time with the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat, wondering if he should have agreed to come and play with everyone.

Shaking his head, Yuugi stifled another laugh at the very thought of him being able to join in—just because one person had asked him didn't mean the others would have agreed—and pulled his pale green backpack to sit in his lap as he began to slowly gather to customized playing cards scattered over his desk. Small hands sliding and shuffling them into a neat stack before wrapping a perfectly stretchy elastic band—a strange reddish orange in colour—around the deck with three precise twists of his fingers and a satisfied smile on his childlike face.

A larger, slightly calloused, hand invaded his field of vision as it waved back and forth teasingly in front of his face before reaching down to snatch up the deck of playing cards—made of a precious, yet sturdy, glass and imported into Japan by his grandpa as birthday gift—long fingers sliding over the Egyptian designs printed on the backs. The small sixteen year old looked up from his task, surprised to find that someone had stayed behind in the classroom with him until he noted that it was in fact a very familiar blonde with fiery chestnut brown eyes, a look that seemed a mixture of amusement and mischief plastered on his admittedly handsome face.

"Ah, what is it Jounouchi-Kun?" Yuugi asked meekly, childish voice wavering in hesitant curiosity as the other turned to stare down at him with a grin promising all sorts of trouble that Yuugi knew he should be wary of. Jounouchi Katsuya was generally a nice guy and quite laid back about things that would make other people upset, easy to talk to, but still the sort of person who wouldn't hesitate to wallop someone just for the hell of it and therefore not someone people wanted to associate themselves with.

Jounouchi smirked and looked down at him, one dark brow twitching sporadically as his sharp hearing caught Yuugi's rather undignified whimper, pointedly ignoring Yuugi's question as he asked one of his own, "Why're ya always playing with these pointless kiddy toys?"

"…I like games…" He defended himself, and his hobbies, weakly trying to snatch the cards back from one of the people he could hesitantly, silently, refer to as a friend.

"That's why nobodies gonna' want ya ta hang out with 'em," The blonde said with a casual shrug, elaborating at Yuugi's questioning look, "Yer always acting like some wimpy little squirt."

"But…I don't like fighting or violence or any of those sorts of things Jounouchi-Kun…"

"Which is an admirable trait in its own right, little Yuugi-Kun!" A brunette boy with his fringe gelled upwards into a singular, rather ridiculous, spike declared from his position by the blackboard where he had previously been attempting to scrub away the chalk marks. Clenching a fist before his face, he directed his bright green eyes towards the ceiling as if it made his statement more important and bounced over to stand behind Jounouchi with a grin.

"Oh, it's the first year class president reject, our very own student janitor Honda Hiroto-Kun~" Jounouchi said cheekily, winking at Yuugi as if encouraging him to join in on tormenting his best friend.

"I'm not a janitor; I'm a beautification club member!" Honda shouted heatedly, continuing despite Jounouchi and Yuugi's attempts at recovering from the earsplitting noise, "And I may have been rejected for class president but I am not disappointed, I have been reborn a new man through beautification!"

"Your voice is too loud Honda…ya don't need ta yell so much." Jounouchi grumbled, idly dangling the deck just out of Yuugi's reach as the much smaller boy jumped for it, hands grasping desperately at the corners before he slipped back down to the floor with a weak laugh.

"And you don't need to pick on people weaker than you Jounouchi Katsuya!" A young girl wearing the basic blue blazer and skirt combination of Domino High growled, her saccharine soprano voice reaching a shrill note that Yuugi—had he not been switching between bristling over being called weak and being inexplicably pleased his childhood crush was sticking up for him—would have found extremely impressive as she stepped in to the classroom.

"Lighten up a little Mazaki, ya don't need ta be runnin' around like ya just lost ya head!" Jounouchi drawled back at her, relaxing into a habitual slouch as he finished with a mumbled, "I was jus' tryin' ta make Yuugi a man after all…"

The brown haired girl glared icily at him as she wandered over to the desk beside Yuugi's gifting him with a sweet, almost sisterly, smile as she placed her empty bentou box on the wooden surface and began sifting through her bag in search of something before pausing with a strange shimmer in her warm brown eyes. Yuugi's smile brightened dramatically as he noticed where her gaze had landed and cupped his treasure between the palms of his hands, halting his attempts to get back his deck as he spoke up, "You like my puzzle Anzu-Chan?"

"Hai, it really suits you Yuugi! I've never seen you wear it before though, is it new?"

"Iie, I just figured out how to put it together but I've had it for the last eight years." He said with a sheepish laugh. "Nobodies been able to finish it for almost 3,000 years…mostly because it was stuck in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings and Grandpa's friend was the one who found it."

"That's so cool!" Anzu exclaimed cheerfully, fingering the puzzle before pulling her hand back quickly with a look of shock on her pretty face and saying softly, "It zapped me…"

"Ah! It doesn't like being touched by anyone but me…weird I know…but…" Yuugi trailed off realizing exactly what he had just said as the other three stared at him in disbelief. He stepped back slightly, stroking his thumb over the puzzle—it had begun to thrum faster and faster in a reaction to his fear—in a futile attempt to calm it. He had to admit he'd been rather freaked out when it had started reacting to his touch but he'd gotten used to it already and he winced, mentally berating himself for forgetting that the others' wouldn't understand it's…Shadow Powers…as his grandfather had called it, before glancing shyly up at the silent trio.

"Whataya mean 'it don't like', the thing ain't possessed is it?" Jounouchi asked almost nervously and Honda turned an incredulous stare to the blonde as he reached out to cuff him upside the head, an eyebrow raised in incredulousness.

Anzu gave a small laugh, and stated calmly as she could in that rather awkward situation, "It's probably just made of some sort of weird metal that reacts to touch…or something…right Yuugi?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I meant!" Yuugi said, nodding his agreement vigorously on the outside while mentally giving a sigh of relief as their expressions morphed back into nothing but vague curiosity—and some embarrassed suspicion on Jounouchi's part.

With a pleased giggle Anzu turned back to her bag and gave a cry of triumph as she pulled out what appeared to be a letter addressed to their math teacher Ishida who would be taking class 1b in the next session. Yuugi watched in confusion as she skipped over to the desk and laid the letter out in plain view of anyone who went to stand behind it before giving him an apologetic grin and walking back over to ruffle his hair.

Flushing a vibrant shade of pink, Yuugi whispered hesitantly, "Anzu-Chan?"

"I'm sorry Yuugi; I've got to go early today as well so we can't walk home together." She said sweetly, sending a harsh glare in Jounouchi's direction as she spat out, "If I catch you messing with Yuugi again you are going to be in big trouble!"

And with that Anzu left the classroom again, sighing in either exasperation or irritation—Yuugi thought it was more likely the latter than the former—as she strode confidently down the hall. Jounouchi seemed to notice this as well and asked, "Any of ya notice that Mazaki's been acting a little strange lately, stranger than normal?"

"She doesn't visit our game shop as often lately…"

Jounouchi's only response was to laugh heartily and make a rather odd remark, "I hope she hasn't been dating fer pay."

Honda looked insulted by the very idea and shouted his protest, "What are you saying? Our fair school doesn't have those…those sorts!"

"But there've been rumors that some girls here've done that for a pocket money…" Jounouchi pointed out, playfully shuffling Yuugi's cards as he snapped off the rubber band. His expression turned thoughtful as he cast a sly glance to the brunette fuming behind him and brought up one such rumor, "Some say _Nosaka Miho-Chan_ from our class, y'know the student librarian, is doing it too."

"M-my beautiful-l Miho-Chan is too p-pure and innocent to ever do tha-tha-that! Take back your _heinous_ accusations-s or I'll kick your ass, here and n-now!" Honda spluttered, eye widening to a comical extent as he waved his arms around wildly in a way that only Yuugi seemed to find threatening, the tall blonde just looked amused.

"Yer so naïve, ya know that?" Jounouchi sighed, shaking his head in over dramatized exasperation. He went on, blithely ignoring Yuugi and Honda's attempts to interrupt, "The lunch Nosaka-Chan and Mazaki bought themselves today were the top level bentou that hardly anyone's ever tasted before! They _must_ be getting' that sorta' cash from _somewhere_. "

"Wait you mean…the fabled stamina bentou?" Honda asked, eyes widening further as Jounouchi nodded and gave him the most serious look Yuugi had ever seen the other boy wear.

He supposed it was now or never. If he wanted to find out the answer to his own question he'd just have to ask them whether he was embarrassed about his ignorance or not, he took a deep breath and murmured quietly, "What is 'dating for pay' anyway?"

"Ya know Yuugi I was thinkin', if ya toughened up a bit more since yer about as frail as a three year old girl, maybe we could hang out sometime." Yuugi's face brightened quickly and fell just as fast, "But ya go and prove me wrong by getting kiddy on me again. Lets go grab lunch already Honda"

With a sigh, Yuugi tried desperately not to cry as the others sauntered out of the room, laughing and joking together the way Yuugi had always wished he could do with someone and yet never had the chance to even try. Anzu was the only friend that he had, his best friend, but even she didn't want to spend time with him any more, he was just to immature in the eyes of others' and it wasn't just his looks that made them think that—his whole personality was wrong.

The bell rang once again and a loud curse reached Yuugi's ears as students began shoving their way back into the classroom, many sweaty and smudged slightly with dirt as they tried desperately to adjust their uniforms before the teacher arrived. Yuugi smiled sadly to himself and pulled out his social studies textbook, freezing in place as he realized Jounouchi had forgotten to give him back his precious cards!

He shook his head as visions of explaining the loss to his disappointed grandpa surfaced in his mind and focused on what he hoped was true. Jounouchi was a nice enough guy; he'd give them back straight after class and even if he didn't they were in the same year, they had desks next to each other, so he could just ask for them back when the blonde arrived. Unfortunately, Yuugi was wrong, Jounouchi Katsuya had completely forgotten about the glass deck shoved carelessly in the pocket of his gakuran as he wandered along the winding back streets towards the burger joint with a distressed Honda—shouting about the wrongs they were committing by skipping afternoon classes—jogging to keep up.

Which was why twenty three minutes and seventeen seconds after school ended he found himself still there and walking towards what he was now sure was his imminent doom as he allowed his wide eyes to trail over the hulking forms of the muscle bound brutes lounging lazily against the wall behind the gym. Yuugi knew he _should_have waited— _should_have stayed by the gates and waited a few minutes longer in case Jounouchi returned but the dark storm clouds brewing overhead had made him nervous and so when Ushio had approached him with that kind smile he had lost his sense of self preservation to fear and followed along like a gullible child.

"Ushio-Senpai, what's going on?" Yuugi asked the tall senior, swallowing thickly passed the lump that had lodged itself in his throat out of fear.

"This." He said simply, still smiling that warm, welcoming smile, and gestured towards the building with a wave of his large hand. Beady gray eyes sparkled triumphantly as they looked down at him, hiding the malicious thoughts of their owner from discovery behind a mask of pleasantness.

Yuugi was horrified by what he saw when Ushio stepped back behind him, preening like a particularly pleased peacock as he did so: Jounouchi and Honda lying on the ground, bodies twisted into impossible positions with heavy ropes tied around their wrists, painfully cutting into the smooth flesh, and dark bruises standing out starkly against their sickly pale skin. The dull gray shades the world had descended into didn't help block the scene, or the gruesome sight of blood spilt on the muddy grass beneath his feet, at all.

Screaming their names, he rushed over to the two beaten boy with a look of pure, unadulterated terror blossoming on his childlike face—thunder clapping loudly in the distance and icy raindrops pelting the earth—and frightened, confused tears streaming down his cheeks. Turning to Ushio he asked cautiously, still recovering from shock, "What happened to them?"

"I've been punishing these bullies for you Yuugi-Kun." The blue haired male smiled. "They deserved what they got here, bullying is wrong and against public moral."

"No…Ushio-Senpai, this is just the same as bullying!" He shouted back, eye wide with fear and sweat beading on the back of his neck as he stumbled closer to the only conscious member of the restrained duo.

Jounouchi looked up into Yuugi's eyes, chestnut boring into frightened lavender angrily, with a scowl on his face and wheezed out, "Yuugi…are ya satisfied with this?"

"You…do you really think I would ask for something this cruel to happen to you Jounouchi-Kun?"

"You know we're not quite done with the punishing." Ushio said with a wicked smirk, continuing in a low drawl meant to send chills down Yuugi's spine, "And I believe I'm going to need 200,000 yen from you as payment if you want us to leave them alone."

Yuugi was scared, no he was terrified, for his classmates' safety and quickly threw himself in front of them, his arms outstretched and a determined frown on his face, as if to shield them from the much larger senior looming over them. Eyes squeezing shut as he desperately fought back a flinch, Yuugi yelled, "Stop it!"

"Well, well Yuugi-kun. Are you going to pay up? Or do we have to keep at it…" Came the threatening response

"There's no way I could let you do that to my friends!" Yuugi yelled, and although he couldn't hear it, Jounouchi repeated his words in a pained whisper. He stared up at Ushio defiantly as he choked the words passed his suddenly dry throat, "I'll…I'll get you your money Ushio-Senpai…but…I don't have that much…"

Ushio merely laughed at his efforts, "What a weird guy you are Yuugi-Kun, friends? They're bullies who exploited you." His expression turned calculating. "And I'll let you pay me, but I need to make sure you won't blab…"

He found himself trembling, knees weak and arms held defensively over his head, as Ushio pulled out a thin, dangerous looking blade that clicked into place with a metallic, scarping, sound that had Yuugi flinching and whimpering in fright. Within seconds a loud squelch from tennis shoes moving swiftly over grass soaked with thick, strangely sticky, mud permeated the muffled silence and Ushio was upon him laughing like a maniac, knife in hand.

"Maybe I'll give you a tattoo to remember!" He shouted gleefully and let his fist fly forward, taking pleasure in the agonized cry Yuugi gave as it impacted with the tender flesh of his cheek.

Wide eyes met as he fell to the ground—one set red ringed lightly with kohl, the other his own pale purple—and suddenly Ushio paused, fists still positioned to deliver the final blow, and turned around to face the shadowy figure that stood, much to both Ushio and Yuugi's surprise, twirling the brute's penknife around his nimble fingers. He walked, almost glided, around the shocked Ushio and stood over Yuugi's body with a strange look on his handsome face as he made disapproving cluck of his tongue, directed at the muscular blue haired brute towering above them.

The strange boy kneeled down beside him, crimson eyes glittering with something close to possessiveness, and brushed Yuugi's unruly, blood matted hair out of his face tenderly with a small half-smirk on his tanned face as he leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead and whispered in his husky, lightly accented voice, "Nobody can hurt you now my precious light, I won't let them."

His face was so similar to his Yuugi couldn't help but think he was staring up at himself and the shadows smeared across those familiar cherubic features failing to disguise the strange, demonic, color of his eyes only made that thought all the more disturbing. Yuugi shuddered as black blurred his vision and he slowly slipped into unconsciousness, beautiful amethyst eyes fluttering closed, despite the sound made when the other delivered his mocking challenge to a shadow game to a bewildered but angry Ushio.


	2. Chapter 2

*For anyone who doesn't know, peridot is a lime-golden green gem and the birthstone for August. It is very similar in color to Ryou's eyes in Season Zero and I thought they suited him a lot more than the light brown from the other series.

**Spoilers for those who haven't seen the end of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters ahead**

(Should I change the character selection to Atemu/Yuugi?)

_**Yu-Gi-Oh! Zero Hearts:**_

**Chapter Two**

_**Dreamscape**_

Yuugi panted softly as he jogged down the street towards his bus stop with his bag slung over his narrow shoulder—hoping no one would notice the tender, quickly yellowing, bruise on his cheek that he had gained just the night before as he idly pressed the tips of his fingers to it with a barely suppressed wince. The rubber soles of his tattered white and gray sneakers tapping loudly against the concrete as he picked up the pace, his pale amethyst eyes widening comically as he was brought face to face with the sight of his school bus pulling away from the stop a good ten minutes earlier than usual.

He skidded across the ground, breath coming in ragged gasps as it jarred his aching ribs, and hurriedly stumbled up the steps, feet clanging on the metal as he went, and through the automatic door of the bus, into the crowded interior, with a relieved smile breaking onto his face. Yuugi quickly maneuvered his way through the numerous passengers with practiced ease and headed towards the empty space towards the back, nodding a greeting to the strangely unfamiliar teenager beside him when he finally found a comfortable, safe, place to stand.

The boy nodded back, smiling brightly and gentle peridot* eyes sparkling with mirth as he gave a quiet chuckle at Yuugi's enthusiastic behavior, disheveled snow white hair falling to frame his oddly pretty heart shaped face as he turned away again—Yuugi was pleased to note that the boy was still smiling. He stared at him with a thoughtful frown, noting how his unusual hair seemed to curl slightly around his shoulders and how pale, foreign, his flawless ivory skin looked when compared to the other people on the bus, before sighing softly and directing his gaze out the window.

He pressed the toe of his left sneaker against the floor, knee bouncing up and down repetitively, and hummed a simple festival tune quietly to himself as he adjusted his bag to sit further up on his back with a soft smile. The bus came to a stop with a soft jerk that's sent him stumbling into the boy beside him—who had tripped and slammed his forehead against the top of Yuugi's head—and smacked his head against a surprisingly smooth, feminine shoulder as the two boys smiled apologetically at each other, rubbing their new aches and trying desperately to stifle the giggles that wanted to escape, before Yuugi grinned at him and made his way off of the stuffy, cramped vehicle.

He walked into the school grounds with a bright smile plastered across his face, trying his best not to listen to the heated whispers spreading between students and teachers alike about Ushio's sudden descent into madness and the strange way he was found—he had coated himself in trash, leaves and other unmentionable things, claiming it was money—earlier that morning. Taking a few steps toward the modern styled building set in the very centre of the large plot of land, he swallowed the growing lump in his throat while glancing down at his puzzle to see the sunlight wash across its golden surface.

"Today should be better than yesterday at least…" He mused quietly as he reached up to finger it lovingly, instantly offering up a lopsided grin as he noticed the curious looks tossed his way by a few of the people walking by him as he began to move again.

The moment he entered the hallway of the first floor, a familiar voice called out to him, "Mornin' Yuugi!"

"Good morning to you too Jounouchi-Kun," Yuugi greeted the taller boy, blowing his unruly golden bangs away from his eyes as he turned to smile at him.

"Y'know I've got something that belongs ta ya…" He said casually, stepping in to walk beside Yuugi as the smaller teen headed for the door of the large classroom that housed a third of Domino High's first year students. Jounouchi smiled apologetically as he pulled something small out of his pocket and sighed, "I forgot I still had when I left yesterday. Sorry 'bout that."

Yuugi's eyes widened in surprise as a familiar deck of cards was held out under his nose in Jounouchi's trembling fingers, he looked up at the blonde with a bright grin that caused Jounouchi to tilt his head to the side—in a way that Yuugi was sure was the same as a puppy who had just been hit on the end of the nose with a newspaper but didn't know _why_—and stare blankly at him. He couldn't stifle the giggles that wanted to escape at the utterly _adorable_ look on the other boy's face as he spoke, "Its fine Jounouchi-Kun, thank you for giving them back to me."

"That's what friends do right?" The blonde said nervously. "Ya don't need ta thank me."

"Really…we're friends?" Yuugi asked hesitantly, amethyst eyes wide and sparkling with hope.

"'Course w-we are, ya said so l-last night….a-anyway…class's starting!" Jounouchi stuttered—desperately trying to hide the vivid pink blush dusting his cheeks—and started to run away but, as he did so, one of the soft, canvas indoor shoes that he had half-slipped on his feet slid out from under him leaving him skidding across the floor on his sock clad foot.

Yuugi quickly rushed after him, picking up the abandoned shoe with one hand as he ran down the hall, calling worriedly, "Jounouchi-kun, you forgot this!"

Jounouchi turned to walk backwards, almost tripping over his own feet in the process, a thoughtful look on his face and still blushing despite his attempts at forcing it back as he reached out and snatched back his shoe with a grateful smile. Hopping on one foot, Jounouchi pulled it on over his pale gray sock and grinned sheepishly at the people who turned to stare, giggling quietly amongst themselves, at the blonde teen while Yuugi merely shook his head in fond exasperation.

The two walked into the classroom through the already open sliding door and, eyes latching onto his pretty brown haired friend, Yuugi grinned as he practically skipped over to his desk, followed by a snickering Jounouchi who seemed to be watching Honda attempt to talk with a soundly sleeping blue haired girl. He sat down in his uncomfortable plastic chair, carefully stuffing his deck into the smaller section of his backpack. Yuugi paused for a moment at the look that Anzu gave him, returning with his own stare. "What is it Anzu-Chan?"

"I'm guessing that you haven't heard the rumors?"

"I'm not really the type to listen to rumors." Yuugi gave a small laugh. "I did hear about Ushio-Senpai though…"

"We're getting a new student." Anzu sighed, expression turning dreamy as she continued, "A really cute, really smart foreign boy apparently."

"…Really?" He asked shyly, wondering if this new student was the pale, kind, boy from the bus. He nodded to himself; it made sense for him to be a new student really, seeing as he was not only quite exotic in his appearance but also a fifteen—he looked more like he was fourteen in Yuugi's opinion, but then again Yuugi was often mistaken for twelve—year old who caught the same bus s him that he, oddly enough, didn't recognize at all.

"I think ya need to take a break from all this stuff Mazaki, yer gettin' wrinkles." Jounouchi laughed as he leaned over the top of his desk and rubbed the tip of his index finger in the sensitive area between Anzu's eyes, just above the slope of her nose. Anzu smacked him over the head in response.

"Isn't he cute when he thinks?" Honda asked Yuugi playfully, both grinning when Jounouchi turned away from his little _talk_ with Anzu to glare at them suspiciously. The brunette boy fiddled with the perfectly buttoned collar of his gakuran and murmured in his ear, "Do you think…maybe…Jou's got a crush on Mazaki-Chan or something Mutou-Kun?"

Yuugi was unable to answer as their teacher, Chouno, strode into the room with a cheery little wave directed at the students. "Today, let's begin by introducing our new transfer student." Chouno cheered as she twirled a silky auburn curl around her long, delicate fingers. "Please come in, no need to be shy."

Yuugi blinked before looking over at the smiling woman standing in front of the blackboard, long eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks. Running the young teacher's words across his memory, his befuddled thoughts didn't allow him to think all that clearly as he was still stuck on trying to answer Honda—ending with him whispering a rather odd reaction, "Jounouchi-Kun's the transfer student? I thought it was that guy from the bus…"

Honda laughed lightly and reached over—he sat behind him, Jounouchi was beside Honda and Anzu, who sat to Yuugi's left. There was a single empty desk to his right—to ruffle his hair, directing his gaze towards the slowly opening door as a handsome boy with flawless coppered skin and gravity defying tricolored hair stepped into the room with a rather irritated sigh. He lifted a hand to brush his long blonde bangs away from his smoldering crimson eyes before giving the class a frown and something that vaguely resembled a look of incredulousness as he raised one finely arched brow and stared blankly into the whispering crowd of students.

"Everyone this is Amun Atemu-Kun and I hope you'll all treat him with respect." The pretty teacher continued, turning to the blackboard and writing out an odd string of characters that had Yuugi blinking in bewilderment as he read over it. The transfer was definitely foreign.

His name caused some laughs to echo throughout the classroom as some of the students turned to each other and repeated his name curiously, eyes darting back to the board and the teacher waiting impatiently at the front of the class with a wide smile spread over her glossy, red-painted lips. Yuugi found everything about her smile to be terribly discomforting; it was as though she was enjoying the way they were acting towards their new classmate even though she had just finished telling them to be respectful.

"It's…nice…too meet you all." Atemu said curtly, hands smoothing imaginary creases from the front of his formfitting leather top as his ethereal crimson eyes scanned the room absentmindedly.

"Now everyone is free to ask a few, _tasteful_, questions about Amun-Kun." Chouno said sternly, her saccharine voice holding hints of cyanide promise for those who dared ask something she didn't think was appropriate.

As the first question came up, Anzu's voice carrying over the quiet muttering of the other students, Yuugi perked up again with a small smile. "Where are you from?"

"Khemet…" Atemu replied softly, before sighing and elaborating for the confused first years, "Egypt."

"Are you related to the pharaohs?"

Yuugi blinked, slightly taken aback by the question, before Atemu answered in the same husky monotone he'd used the night before, "Very closely."

There mutters from around the classroom grew in volume and Chouno quickly silenced them with a flippant wave of her hand, her lips parted into an 'oh' of false surprise as she said sweetly, "Please sit next to Mutou-Kun."

Shock came over Yuugi's face as he turned a fetching shade of rosy pink and shakily held his hand up in the air, drawing the calm gaze of the new student towards himself and—despite Yuugi's obvious desire for the floor to open up and swallow him—Atemu's scowl seemed to morph itself into something more welcoming as he walked over to the empty desk. Licking his lips nervously, Yuugi whispered to his new classmate, "Hi I'm Yuugi."

The other gave him a lopsided grin, full lips parting just enough to reveal perfectly straight white teeth, and whispered back, "And, as you are no doubt aware, I'm Atemu. It's nice to meet you Yuugi-Kun."

The day soon came to an end and slowly the stares and giggles directed at Yuugi's seatmate died down into nothing but occasional glances from the curious students around them or soft blushes from young girls who found themselves caught staring by those intense crimson eyes. Jounouchi was stretching his arms out in pleasure as he tried to ease the cramps gained after a long day of sitting hunched over a desk; Yuugi smiled as the blonde gave a happy sigh and turned to him.

"Oi Yuugi, ya wanna stop somewhere on the way home?"

"Sure!" He cheered, looking over his shoulder at his newfound friend, before hesitantly asking the boy beside him, "Would you like to come with us Atemu-Kun?"

"I would like to if Jounouchi-San finds that acceptable." Atemu responded, staring down at his desk with an almost hopeful look on his face.

"Loosen up a little Amun. You and Yuugi get along; I ain't gonna start things off by saying no ta my buddy's new friend." Jounouchi sighed dramatically and Atemu chuckled softly as the blonde sent a smug smile Yuugi's way. "So, where do ya wanna go?"

"We could go to that new place that's just opened–it's called Burger Land I think." Unnoticed by the three boys Anzu gave them an intense stare and gasped in horror when he suggested that particular restaurant. "I've heard their hamburgers are really delicious." Yuugi finished.

"Good idea Yuugi-Kun…" Atemu said with a smile.

"Wait a minute there you lot." The three boys turned to look up at Honda, who was standing with his hands pressed against his hips. Yuugi giggled softly as the brunette growled at Jounouchi, "You shouldn't be teaching our new student to break the rules. You know nobody is allowed to stop after school!"

"Oh, it's the first year class president reject, our very own student janitor, Honda Hiroto-Kun~!" Jounouchi said cheekily, starting off the afternoon with his usual good natured teasing.

"Not a janitor, a beautification club member!"

"Isn't that the same thing?" Atemu asked with a smirk, winking at Jounouchi who howled with laughter at the utterly flabbergasted look on Honda's face. Yuugi assumed he thought Atemu was going to be shy or nervous, he himself could never see that happening after the events of the night before—he was fairly certain his mysterious protector and Atemu were the same person, he would ask later though just to make sure—even if he had passed out before the finale.

"Hold on," Yuugi turned to face Anzu, noting the way her smile seemed to be sickly and a little forced. "Did you say Burger Land?" Yuugi smiled; perhaps he had just imagined it.

"You want to come too, Anzu-Chan?" He asked, desperately trying to ignore Jounouchi's continued snickering and Honda's stuttered denials as Atemu interrogated him about the differences between janitorial duties and beautification.

"Don't joke about something like that! I heard people got sick on the grand opening day and the food's supposed to be terrible." Everyone, including people not included in the conversation who had been loitering around the room, gave her confused glances as she continued in a small voice, "Besides, this morning's news report told us about that dangerous escaped criminal remember. We've got to be careful."

"Oh, that's right!" Yuugi exclaimed, remembering his grandpa's strict instructions not to walk home alone and the fearful looks people had sent each other on the bus earlier. "He was put on death row for committing a really big crime and the whole town is in panic because of the escape!"

"It's not like he's gonna pop up out of nowhere and attack a large group Yuugi." Jounouchi said, leaning back and rocking his chair despite Honda's pleas for him to stop damaging school property.

"Jounouchi-San, sometimes being cautious of things that are risky is a good thing. In some situations it's better to be safe than sorry." Atemu nodded sagely, sharing a gentle smile with Yuugi.

"A-anyway…you guys shouldn't go." Anzu stuttered, giving them a shaky glare. As she left the classroom, she called back to Yuugi apologetically, "Sorry I can't walk with you again, I would go somewhere else with you three but I have something else to do."

Honda yelped worriedly as Nosaka Miho, the beautiful blue haired girl he had been attempting to talk to earlier, fixed the canary yellow ribbon holding her hair in a high ponytail and rose from her chair in a graceful, fluid motion before gliding over to the door with a soft shout of, "Anzu, wait for me!"

Yuugi was instantly reminded of Jounouchi's comments the day before about both Miho and Anzu's strange behavior and a quick glance to the blonde boy leaning lazily against his desk proved that he was thinking something along the same lines. Atemu slung the jacket of his gakuran over his shoulders casually, as if it was a cape, and as Yuugi and Jounouchi stared at each other—he was sure they were attempting to speak telepathically—mused aloud, "Perhaps we should make sure Mazaki-San is going to be alright. This man was a convicted serial rapist wasn't he?"

"Ah! You're right Atemu-Kun; Anzu might get into trouble if she and Nosaka-Chan are all alone…" He agreed, frowning at the empty doorway that had just moments ago framed the two girls that were the topic of their conversation.

"We can go ta the Calorie Burger place after," Jounouchi said with an indifferent shrug, swinging his bag onto his back and sauntering out of the room, Yuugi and Atemu following after him as they shared small, amused smiles.

Yuugi had the oddest prickling sensation irritating the soft flesh of his taut stomach, directly beneath the puzzle, as he left the school along side his new friends. It was as if his puzzle was warning him that something was going to change…something important…

**(To Be Continued)**


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